FTFA: The only real question here is why now? Perhaps the Evo tournament nod was a step too far for Hasbro. The company has been incredibly tolerant and even supportive of the show's mature fan base thus far

Because nobody else was making a marketable product based off of MLP:FiM. That's why. Hasbro's well within its right to do this. Perhaps the developers should've met with the Hasbro execs first? *shrug*

FirstNationalBastard:Because People in power are Stupid: This proves that Hasbro is finally getting serious about taking their show back from adult male pedophiles and giving back to little girls.

I bet you have a van, and offer free candy to children. It's only logical, since you seem know just what pedophiles like.

...must be why you don't watch My Little Pony, too.

Anyway, Fighting may be magic, but copyright infringement isn't.

But by Rubber-Glue vs Smelt-It-Dealt-it corp 1969 when one accuses anyone else specifically of an act -the accusing party is indeed guilty of the crime. However, if someone accuses others of a crime generally -then the accuser is in fact without sin and may cast the first stone.

Because People in power are Stupid:FirstNationalBastard: Because People in power are Stupid: This proves that Hasbro is finally getting serious about taking their show back from adult male pedophiles and giving back to little girls.

I bet you have a van, and offer free candy to children. It's only logical, since you seem know just what pedophiles like.

...must be why you don't watch My Little Pony, too.

Anyway, Fighting may be magic, but copyright infringement isn't.

But by Rubber-Glue vs Smelt-It-Dealt-it corp 1969 when one accuses anyone else specifically of an act -the accusing party is indeed guilty of the crime. However, if someone accuses others of a crime generally -then the accuser is in fact without sin and may cast the first stone.

That was overturned in 1982 by the Supreme Court. Warren Burger himself gave the Majority opinion explaining that he who smelt it, indeed, dealt it and that he who denied it, in fact did supply it. He then jumped up on the bench, threw his robe over Sandra Day O'Connor's, head, and gave her a wicked dutch oven, all the while saying "I don't smell anything."

Why are we suddenly pretending that these kind of people only exist among the bronies?

Probably because it's easier to deride them and doesn't require acknowledging that <insert personally relevant interest here> attracts just as many obsessively-interested people that tend to come off as creepy no matter what character they're dressing up as/admiring.

Why are we suddenly pretending that these kind of people only exist among the bronies?

Probably because it's easier to deride them and doesn't require acknowledging that <insert personally relevant interest here> attracts just as many obsessively-interested people that tend to come off as creepy no matter what character they're dressing up as/admiring.

You make a great point. Jerking off while dressing as a cartoon horse and thinking about cartoon horses is exactly the same as having a cool stamp collection.

Why are we suddenly pretending that these kind of people only exist among the bronies?

Bronies just happen to be relevant to the article. These kind of people exist everywhere, in every subculture. They are fun to make fun of because, to those of us outside of the subculture, they look farking ridiculous. A brony isn't born a brony. He decides to either latch on to this phenomenon or realizes the phenomenon reflects him...and that's farking hilarious.

Why are we suddenly pretending that these kind of people only exist among the bronies?

Probably because it's easier to deride them and doesn't require acknowledging that <insert personally relevant interest here> attracts just as many obsessively-interested people that tend to come off as creepy no matter what character they're dressing up as/admiring.

You make a great point. Jerking off while dressing as a cartoon horse and thinking about cartoon horses is exactly the same as having a cool stamp collection.

A) it's the same as jerking off to a stamp collection.B) there is no such thing as a cool stamp collection.C) so what, girls aren't allowed to have quality fighting games? Fark you.

Why are we suddenly pretending that these kind of people only exist among the bronies?

Probably because it's easier to deride them and doesn't require acknowledging that <insert personally relevant interest here> attracts just as many obsessively-interested people that tend to come off as creepy no matter what character they're dressing up as/admiring.

You make a great point. Jerking off while dressing as a cartoon horse and thinking about cartoon horses is exactly the same as having a cool stamp collection.

A) it's the same as jerking off to a stamp collection.B) there is no such thing as a cool stamp collection.C) so what, girls aren't allowed to have quality fighting games? Fark you.

Well, let me know when there's a convention of people who like to jerk off to their stamp collections. You and I can go point and laugh together.

//I have no idea what the part about the fighting games means, but you seem to feel very strongly about it.

Oh, and before any bronies here start sperging, let me point out (as I had mentioned in today's earlier MLP thread), that the makers of Fighting is Magic were caught trying to arrange a secret deal with the folks at Gamespot for a bit of money for every FiM download made. That's when Hasbro decided to put on their Brixton 9000s and plant it up some bronie's hindquarters.

This game hasn't exactly been flying under the radar. It's been pretty heavily hyped in Bronydom for a while now. So either Hasbro are hideously ignorant of the fans, or have just decided to be colossal pricks now for some reason. Either way, they're goddamn morons. When your show has a fandom like this, it's generally considered bad form to shiat on them.

Fighting is Magic was nonprofit. No money was being lost that would have otherwise gone to Hasbro. If they had a problem with the concept, why didn't they C&D it earlier, instead of waiting 'til it was almost done? Did Hasbro shuffle executives around, because this reeks of a new exec with a bug up his/her ass.

TV's Vinnie:Oh, and before any bronies here start sperging, let me point out (as I had mentioned in today's earlier MLP thread), that the makers of Fighting is Magic were caught trying to arrange a secret deal with the folks at Gamespot for a bit of money for every FiM download made. That's when Hasbro decided to put on their Brixton 9000s and plant it up some bronie's hindquarters.

TV's Vinnie:Oh, and before any bronies here start sperging, let me point out (as I had mentioned in today's earlier MLP thread), that the makers of Fighting is Magic were caught trying to arrange a secret deal with the folks at Gamespot for a bit of money for every FiM download made. That's when Hasbro decided to put on their Brixton 9000s and plant it up some bronie's hindquarters.

/facepalmWhat did they think was going to happen? On the plus side, a cease and desist is a lot nicer than a suit for $150k in statutory damages for willful copyright infringement and $1M for commercial trademark infringement.

Theaetetus:TV's Vinnie: Oh, and before any bronies here start sperging, let me point out (as I had mentioned in today's earlier MLP thread), that the makers of Fighting is Magic were caught trying to arrange a secret deal with the folks at Gamespot for a bit of money for every FiM download made. That's when Hasbro decided to put on their Brixton 9000s and plant it up some bronie's hindquarters.

/facepalmWhat did they think was going to happen? On the plus side, a cease and desist is a lot nicer than a suit for $150k in statutory damages for willful copyright infringement and $1M for commercial trademark infringement.

I'm holding out judgment 'til I get a citation. If it's true, then yeah, the ManeSix devs need at least a good dopeslap.

LordJiro:Fighting is Magic was nonprofit. No money was being lost that would have otherwise gone to Hasbro.

Legally irrelevant, even if it makes a good emotional plea. Problem is, one, Hasbro has to protect their trademark if they want to retain control of it; and two, a pony fighting game is contrary to the message they want associated with their characters and trademark. Allowing the game would tarnish Hasbro's reputation among their primary demographic, even if Bronies liked it.

If they had a problem with the concept, why didn't they C&D it earlier, instead of waiting 'til it was almost done? Did Hasbro shuffle executives around, because this reeks of a new exec with a bug up his/her ass.

they may have been less upset about it while it stayed on Brony fan sites, but once they started seeking wider distribution through Gamespot, then they had to take action, per above.

LordJiro:I'm holding out judgment 'til I get a citation. If it's true, then yeah, the ManeSix devs need at least a good dopeslap.

People put games up on Gamespot, and in return Gamespot gives the devs money for every download, even for the "free" games. Gamespot looks at it like advertising to come to their site. A MLP game would have been an advert Bonanza for Gamespot.

When Hasbro found out, they decided to start grasping the reigns a bit tighter (pun intended). This was why they also sent DCMAs to You Tube to take down the "Friendship is Witchcraft" parodies.

TV's Vinnie:Been watching the chan boards on this one. The levels of autism have been the likes of which even God has never seen.

/And I thought furries were a creepy bunch that were easily rattled. They got nuthin' on bronies.

Apropos of nothing, I would challenge you to name ANY chan board that isn't host to the dregs of humanity. I wouldn't take them as a representative sample any more than I would take /v/ as a representative sample of people that play videogames, or God forbid, looking at /tv/ as a representative sample of people that watch television and films.

LordJiro:Theaetetus: TV's Vinnie: Oh, and before any bronies here start sperging, let me point out (as I had mentioned in today's earlier MLP thread), that the makers of Fighting is Magic were caught trying to arrange a secret deal with the folks at Gamespot for a bit of money for every FiM download made. That's when Hasbro decided to put on their Brixton 9000s and plant it up some bronie's hindquarters.

/facepalmWhat did they think was going to happen? On the plus side, a cease and desist is a lot nicer than a suit for $150k in statutory damages for willful copyright infringement and $1M for commercial trademark infringement.

I'm holding out judgment 'til I get a citation. If it's true, then yeah, the ManeSix devs need at least a good dopeslap.

That. If true, or if it had something to do with the EVO 2013 donation campaign, they farked up. A pity they couldn't have worked out a deal with Hasbro for a license to use the trademark.

A damn shame, though. Anyone could have slapped a pony bitmap onto an existing game. These guys approached the fighting game genre seriously. By all accounts, Fighting is Magic was going to be able to stand on its merits as a 2D fighter, not just as a brony thing.

Mike_LowELL:In fairness, I think pretty much everybody has some sexual fetish or attraction that disgusts ninety-five percent of all people.

Not everybody chooses to identify themselves with a group of people that are responsible for turning children's entertainment into a sexual fetish. It's not normal. It's farking weird. But those of us on the outside are supposed to be handing out gold medals to every self-identified brony who doesn't want to fark a cartoon horse?

I look at most human biology as "What helped us survive in the jungle?", but I'd be lying if I could figure what sexual selective trait that "attracted to a drawing of a cartoon horse" would fulfill. For that reason, it's tough for me to make a judgment. I dunno. It may weird me out, and I think some of the candor people discuss their "sekrit love" with really weirds me out, but I'm hard-pressed to say that most of the deviance harms me or anyone else. So obviously, if people are screwing kids, for instance, then we have a problem. Consenting adults can pretty much do what they want, as far as I'm concerned.

Twilight Farkle:A damn shame, though. Anyone could have slapped a pony bitmap onto an existing game. These guys approached the fighting game genre seriously. By all accounts, Fighting is Magic was going to be able to stand on its merits as a 2D fighter, not just as a brony thing.

Then why make a illegal game? All fan fiction is illegal. All fan-coded games is illegal and will be shut down EVERY SINGLE TIME! I mean, they have to enforced the trademark, or they will lose the trademark status. That's actually how it works legally. Nintendo does this sort of thing all the time, even for things that they think are pretty cool.

So, why spend all of that time coding the stuff when you KNOW it's going to die a painful death?

Twilight Farkle:That. If true, or if it had something to do with the EVO 2013 donation campaign, they farked up. A pity they couldn't have worked out a deal with Hasbro for a license to use the trademark.

Oh, come on. A pity, yes, but a pity in the same way that it's a pity that Warren Buffet doesn't sign over his entire estate to me. Hasbro never would have licensed that mark, particularly not to a fighting game.

A damn shame, though. Anyone could have slapped a pony bitmap onto an existing game. These guys approached the fighting game genre seriously. By all accounts, Fighting is Magic was going to be able to stand on its merits as a 2D fighter, not just as a brony thing.

And if true, then they should be able to re-do the artwork and release it as a legitimate fighter on its own, which would be great.

I was a young lad of 12, just starting to become aware of my own sexuality. My sister had a wide assortment of dolls - barbie, cabbage patch...but I found myself most interested in the ponies. I couldn't stop holding them when she wasn't around, caressing their soft plastic rumps, feeling their silky manes against my cheek.

They began to get suspicious eventually, my parents. Her dolls would keep going missing at an alarming rate (I tried to wash them when I was done but without success). Finally the day came where they found my stash, the shoebox I kept under my bed and behind my GI Joes. There was no way to lie my way out of it, the boxes of tissues and ponies with matted fur and paint rubbing off. It was humiliating. There was yelling, tears, they just didn't understand, they prayed it was just a phase. My dad even bought me Playboys hoping that I would find my way back to normalcy. I pretended, but in my heart I remained the same.

I moved out when I was 18, haven't spoken to my family since. Fortunately I found a nice job working on a ranch doing various jobs, and I even found someone to share my life with. Her names Cloud Chaser (I call her chase), she's a lovely Palomino who really understands me for who I am, and loves to cuddle after a good ride. Just thinking about running my hands over her velvet flanks while she thunders beneath me...

blue_2501:So, why spend all of that time coding the stuff when you KNOW it's going to die a painful death?

(i) You think you have some legitimate fair use/parody/"but we're a non-profit!" argument. You're wrong, but you don't know that, so you waste the time; (ii) You think that you can capitalize on the popularity of the IP you're copying to get attention, and once you get the cease & desist, you slap on the new artwork and come out with a "My Little Horsies: Magic Friendship Fight" game trying to skirt around the C&D. You're wrong, but you don't know that, so you waste the time; (iii) You think that you can get media attention and support from the community, because your game will be soooooo great that Hasbro will have to give in! You're wrong, but you don't know that, so you waste the time; and (iv) You're doing it for the press and media attention, but then you'll drop the IP completely and come out with an entirely new property, hoping that enough of the media attention carries over to your new effort. If you're really smart, you were already working on new, non-parody, completely independent artwork and can release the new version within a few weeks.

blue_2501:Then why make a illegal game? All fan fiction is illegal. All fan-coded games is illegal and will be shut down EVERY SINGLE TIME! I mean, they have to enforced the trademark, or they will lose the trademark status. That's actually how it works legally. Nintendo does this sort of thing all the time, even for things that they think are pretty cool.

So, why spend all of that time coding the stuff when you KNOW it's going to die a painful death?

The fans and artists have typically gone out of their way to admit they don't own the IP, and to acknowledge its origin. In return, Hasbro's actually dealt with the IP issues around the property with a very light hand. As you correctly point out, trademarks require that their owners defend them or risk losing them. Eventually the story will come out, even if the game doesn't.

Theaetetus:And if true, then they should be able to re-do the artwork and release it as a legitimate fighter on its own, which would be great.

They even had an offer of help from a pretty awesome source. After they recover from the shock and disappointment, I hope they take her up on it. As you say, "Number iv could actually work."

The Big Irony of a man who clops off to a cartoon made for girls is that he will never, ever know the touch of a woman besides their own mother (and I bet she too is a bit oogied out from all this herself).